Wild with David Attenborough

2016 • Smithsonian Channel
4.6
35 reviews
TV-PG
Rating
Eligible
Watch in a web browser or on supported devices Learn More

Season 1 episodes (7)

1 David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies: First to Fly
4/6/16
Season-only
Join world-renowned naturalist David Attenborough, as he spans the globe to track the extraordinary evolution of Earth's first flying creatures: insects. It's a journey into an unexpectedly advanced world, where dragonflies use their four wings to deadly effect and butterflies make some of the longest migrations on the planet. Through stunning up-close, slow motion footage and high-tech forensics, we tell their remarkable story, over 320 million years in the making.
2 David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies: Rivals
4/13/16
Season-only
After ruling the skies for about 60 million years, insects were joined by a new group of creatures: vertebrates. The pioneers of the backboned flyers were the prehistoric pterosaurs, followed by a group of dinosaurs that acquired feathers. Finally, after a global extinction event, birds and the newly emerged bats took command of the skies. Join naturalist David Attenborough as he investigates the jungles of Borneo and the volcanic ash of China to track the evolution of these remarkable flying animals.
3 David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies: Triumph
4/20/16
Season-only
Over the last 150 million years, birds have spread around the globe and evolved a multitude of flying abilities to become lethal hunters, formation flyers, and aerial acrobats. But there is a vast kingdom birds do not control: the night skies. Naturalist David Attenborough explores the highly advanced inhabitants that dominate our skies today. Follow him to the caves in Gomantong, Borneo, where today's birds and bats meet in a battle for supremacy.
4 David Attenborough's Flying Monsters
4/27/16
Season-only
Something remarkable happened 200 million years ago. For the first time, backboned creatures left the ground and took to the skies. They were reptiles called pterosaurs, and over millions of years, they evolved into a huge variety of species, some the size of airplanes. But why and how did these magnificent beasts fly, and why did they suddenly vanish? Join David Attenborough, the world's leading naturalist, and a team of scientists across the globe on a quest to unravel one of the science world's more enduring mysteries.
5 Micro Monsters with David Attenborough: Conflict
5/4/16
Season-only
Killer ants. Trap-setting spiders. Beetles that shoot boiling chemicals at their enemies. In the micro world, arthropods prey upon one another in many creative and brutal ways, and if you're a bug that can't defend itself, you're not going to last long. Enter the rainforests and deserts of Africa and Australia with natural historian David Attenborough as he examines the survival tactics of the Micro Monsters. Using a new camera system, we give you an up-close view of some of the most remarkable fight-to-the-death battles on the planet.
6 Micro Monsters with David Attenborough: Courtship
5/11/16
Season-only
Every species must reproduce in order to continue to exist, and in the world of the Micro Monsters, the courtships are complex, fascinating, and often brutal. Natural historian David Attenborough reveals the wide variety of bug mating games, from the dance of the scorpions to the Goliath beetle's battle of strength, and the gruesome ritual of the praying mantis. It's not always pretty, and it certainly isn't romantic, but the success level is undeniable, making arthropods one of the most abundant forms of animals on the planet.
7 Micro Monsters with David Attenborough: Family
5/18/16
Season-only
Most arthropods leave their offspring to fend for themselves and some parents even die after giving birth. But there is a small minority of bugs that stick around to look after their young and become families. Natural historian David Attenborough steps away from the conflict-laden lives of Micro Monsters and celebrates the community that exists in the worlds of burrowing cockroaches, social spiders, driver ants, and more. Here, team spirit and cooperation rule, leading to gigantic communities that numerically rival our greatest cities.

About this show

Insects, pterosaurs, and birds all have conquered the skies over the course of 320 million years, thanks to evolution. Follow David Attenborough across the globe as he uncovers the mysteries of nature's most fascinating creatures, from the first flying beasts to the wonderfully strange arthropods that dominate our world.

Ratings and reviews

4.6
35 reviews
diane mcfayden
June 1, 2016
Very good